Filming: Lincoln Hawk
by dreamanewday
Summary: Set after 'School Lies', Serena finds a short film about Lincoln Hawk, and learns about her mother, her history, and ultimately, about herself. Parings include Dan/Serena and Lily/Rufus.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N- My first fic, let me know what you think! =) Set after 'school lies', an idea I've had for a while about Lily and Rufus, Serena learning more about their past. _

_Disclaimer- Sadly, I don't own gossip girl._

~xxx~

The sound of the doorbell interrupted Serena's musings.

"In a minute!" she called, purse on shoulder. Dan was early. And besides, wasn't she meeting him in Brooklyn? Flipping open her phone to be sure, she read his text 'coffee shop, cu there' and smiled. It was just like him to come instead to the hotel. Opening the door with a flirty

"Since when do we serve coffee?" she came face to face with a decidedly…. not Dan.

After a moment of awkward silence, Serena said with a laugh "Erm, Sorry about that. We don't really serve coffee." Then "Can I help you with anything?"

The woman at the door was pretty, with dyed black hair, and large, dark eyes. In them, Serena could see that she was surprised to see a teenage girl at the door. Serena was as surprised to see her; though she had few qualms about people _not _from the upper east side (she was dating Dan after all), she seemed decidedly out of place. She was wearing dark jeans, and what looked to be a faded black concert t-shirt. Beautiful blue dangling earnings hung from her ears. An artist, maybe, or a filmmaker, she mused. Seeming to recover from her initial surprise, the woman cleared her throat and said, almost warily

"Yes actually. I'm looking for someone, a woman, maybe thirty five by now, I'm not sure, I never was too good with dates." She spoke with a slight accent, which Serena couldn't quite place. Suddenly unsure, she paused. "This is the right address…right?" Holding out her hand, the woman showed her the address written in black sharpie on the back. Serena nodded. The woman smiled, and said, "That's good."

She paused, and added, "The woman I'm looking for was named Lily. Maybe you know her."


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer- Thanks for reading! Sadly, I don't own gossip girl. _

Taken completely by surprise, Serena blinked and stared at the woman, trying to place her. The image she had of her mom passed through her mind, and she wondered how on earth they were connected. Misreading her confused look, the woman quickly clarified.

"Lily Rhodes. Or maybe she mentioned me. Claire Tala...No? Oh well." she gave Serena a fleeting smile, than in an instant, a look of understanding crossed her face and she laughed.

Serena gave her a brief smile as well, glad the woman seemed to understand; she certainty didn't.

"Or," she added mischievously, "Lily Humphrey. You're her daughter, right?"

"I am her daughter." Serena confirmed, thinking her mom had some explaining to do, then added, suddenly annoyed, "Serena Van der Woodson, it's nice to meet you." The woman took her hand and shook it, the words 'Van der Woodson' on the tip of her tongue. Seeing the question in her eyes, Serena said, a little more directly than necessary. "Dr. William Van der Woodson is my father. And was my mother's first husband. I'm sure she'll be delighted to meet you."

"Is she not in?" the woman asked. Serena could see surprise, and a little bit of hurt hidden in her eyes.

"No." Serena added, more gently. "But you're welcome to wait for her if you like. I think she said she was going to see Bart, she shouldn't be more than half an hour."

"That's ok," the woman said quickly, "I can come back later." She hesitated a minute, than said "I'm not sure if she mentioned me before; but I traveled with her and Rufus, when Lincoln Hawk was on tour a long time ago." she smiled for a second, then added "I was in the city, and I though I might stop and say hi; we used to be pretty close. Besides, I still have the documentary I made and gave to her, she left it behind when she left." She gave a surprised Serena a memory stick, then added "In case I don't see her before I go, do you mind letting her know I stopped by and said hello?"

"Sure." Serena said.

"Thanks." the woman smiled, turning to go. Then paused, and said, "You look just like her." she smiled. "It was great to meet you, I hope I'll see you again soon."

She gave a brief wave as she rounded the corner, leaving the floor.

~xxx~

Lily Van der Woodson stood on the corner of first and seventeenth, feeling foolish as she gazed up at the half hidden art gallery. Traffic zoomed by and pedestrians walked purposefully past her, as she pulled her Louis Vuitton handbag closer to her and wondered, again, why on earth she had come. Hadn't she made her intentions clear already. She doubted he would be happy to see her. And what on earth was she doing in _Brooklyn_. It was so...well..so like him.

Besides, she liked Bart, really, not just because he had money. She was _happy _with Bart. Well, maybe not right _now_, but that would come. She sighed; three divorces had taught her otherwise. And Rufus was different. She closed her eyes, even if it was for the best, it was difficult to let him go.

"Lily?" She jumped, "You don't normally come down here."

Vanessa, a colourful bag over one shoulder, and black, dangling earrings, gave her a confused look, "Are you looking for Dan?"

"Oh, Vanessa. You startled me. Serena actually. She has a date with Dan this afternoon, and I wanted to catch her before she left. Evidently, I was too late". Technically, it _was _true, even if not entirely so. Serena did have a date with Dan.

"Why do you need to find Serena?" Vanessa asked. Lily bit her tongue, and Vanessa quickly added, "I understand if it's personal... I think Dan said he was taking her out for coffee. I you like, I can show you the shop."

Relieved, Lily said quickly, "No, thank you Vanessa. I wouldn't want to make you late for work." She smiled "I can just call her."

Vanessa nodded, and said "If I see her, I'll let her know you were looking for her."

Lily smiled. "Thank you, that would be wonderful."

With a wave, Vanessa turned, heading up the steps to the gallery. Lily could hear Rufus as the doors opened, then swung shut again. She stood, looking at the gallery, as the New York city life continued behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N - A little bit of a short chapter, but I wanted to post it soon. Let me know what you think! _

_Disclaimer- Sadly, I do not own gossip girl. _

~ xxx ~

Meditating on the curiosity that had just occurred, Serena wondered once again why her mother never mentioned a woman named Claire to her before. Or a documentary for that matter. Now that she thought about it, her mother had never said anything about her life, at least before she decided to forgo rock and roll bands and crowded tour busses to become a Upper East Side socialite. Until the whole thanksgiving fiasco ("Oh, our parents used to date") Serena would never think to use 'tour bus' and 'Mom' in the same sentence. As it was, it was still difficult to imagine a Lily van der Woodson on tour, with Rufus, or worse, in flannel.

The glow of a phone screen caused her to look down in surprise, and suddenly she remembered her date with Dan! She was late already (most likely why he was calling...) and hoped he had not been waiting long. Strangely enough though, the name on the screen was not Dan Humphrey, but Vanessa. Did Vanessa even have her phone number? Deciding just to let her phone take a message, Serena searched her pockets for keys. Her fingers instead closed on a memory stick.

Serena was curious, despite herself. And, if she was honest, maybe a little apprehensive...she wondered what would be on a _Lincoln Hawk documentary_. For a moment, she hesitated in the doorway of their hotel room, then decisively sent a text to Dan saying she would be more than a little late. Her mother wouldn't be home for several hours anyway; she was meeting Bart for lunch.

Kicking off her shoes, Serena found her laptop where it lay, under a throw pillow on her bed. While she waited for her computer to start, Serena went into the kitchen, finding only tea. By the time she returned, the program had opened.

A title screen, with faded black type and 90's guitar music opened. Letters read 'Lincoln Hawk, A Behind the Scenes Documentary'. Feeling a little bit worried about what she might find, Serena hit play.

~xxx~

Hardly believing it herself, Lily van der Woodson was sitting in a Brooklyn coffee shop, watching the traffic drive by. The symphony of downtown played outside her window, bringing her, in a way, to a world that was much more real than the society debuts, hidden intentions, and stiff formality that was the upper east side. A pizza boy whisked by on a skateboard, headphones blaring out rock music. A businessman in a dark suit and tie, talked, full of importance on a cell phone as he walked to wherever it was he needed to be. Taxis honked and swerved in the streets, and people passed by on the crowded sidewalks. Occasionally, some of them climbed the steps that led to the half hidden art gallery. Stirring her coffee idly, she took a tentative sip. Lily smiled; it was really quite good. The bell above the door rang again as another person entered the shop, she glanced out the window again as his voice blended into the crowd. In the background, a voice ordering a cup of coffee with ease (and a hint of sarcasm), barely registered in her mind and she still felt unaware when his footsteps approached her table. Her gaze was still on the quiet gallery across the street.

"A great coffee shop, isn't it? Nice view too."

She practically jumped, looking around to see Rufus Humphrey standing beside her, a hidden smile on his face.


End file.
